But he's not just a social media guy. Boldon is actually into tech of all kinds. Gadgets are integral to his work as an analyst and speed coach for NFL players. He's also a longtime device geek and, as a child, was surrounded by technology, thanks to a father who worked as a systems analyst on old-school mainframe computers.
Boldon recently slowed down to chat with Mashable about how he uses Twitter, the pitfalls and opportunities social media offers athletes today, his techie credentials and more.
Q&A With Ato Boldon
People know you as being great on Twitter, but in your bio there, you describe yourself as a full-on techie. How deep is the tech love?
This is not something that started yesterday, not a self-appointed title. I was raised in a very high-tech environment, with IBM PCjr's and Commodores in my house since I was nine, back in Trinidad.
Here's something almost no one knows: Back when I was a competitive athlete, my hobby was building PCs from the ground up. I made a few appearances on Call For Help with Leo Laporte on Tech TV. Leo was kind of blown away, like, "Wait, you're this Olympic medalist who really is into this tech stuff. You're the real deal." Several years ago, he anointed me the world's fastest geek -- but that's not exactly the type of stuff you tell Sports Illustrated.
What kind of role does technology play in your work now?
My iPad is with me in the booth. It has all my notes in Evernote, all the articles I need. Coaching NFL guys, I use an app called Coach's Eye that, to me, is unlike anything that's ever existed. It allows me not just to tell a guy he had his head or hands out of place -- now I can play it back instantly. I resisted the iPad bandwagon until the new one came out and I had to have the absolute first batch, but it's transformed the way I coach and broadcast.
Tech and Twitter are great for you as a media guy, but is social media something you wish was around when you were competing?
No! [Laughs.] I'm glad two things didn't coincide with my career: Twitter and camera phones. As outspoken as I was, I see athletes getting trouble for saying things they probably should have given a little more thought to before putting it on Twitter. That probably would have been me. There are a lot of things I did in Europe I'm glad didn't end up on a camera phone.
Like what??
[Laughs again.] Just certain things in Europe, certain parties. You have to understand, Maurice Green, myself, guys like us would live and train in Europe -- and as the world's fastest men, we were rockstars there at that time. When athletes get in trouble now. it lives on forever, so I'm glad none of what we did got recorded like that.
Who do you think are the best track athletes today on Twitter?
Lolo Jones is the gold standard -- I think she has one of the most entertaining accounts on Twitter. But you expect that with Lolo because she's always been a good interview and engaging person. Then there's someone like Tyson Gay, who's an introvert and probably not going to spend a lot of time talking in person. But following him really opened my eyes to his sense of humor and what a great personality he has.
How effectively do you think athletes in general maximize Twitter right now?
In my experience, it seems about 60% use it for stuff no one cares about: to cuss or show how rich or macho they are. Then there's a small swath of the pro athlete community that gets it, and knows Twitter is your brand as much as anything else. If you cultivate and nurture it, it's something that can be really useful. It gives you a daily voice, which is important for a lot of athletes.
That being said, the International Olympic Committee has some restrictions on what athletes can share from London. What do you think of that?
Let's face it: Most Olympic athletes don't come from the most noticed and heralded sports. If the IOC wants to grow its brand, it should look to grow these athletes' profiles by extension. For example, if you take a swimmer from Spain -- where it's all about soccer -- and let him really be himself, that by extension makes the Olympics better as a whole. Limiting what the they can tweet is kind of counterproductive, and I think the IOC needs to lighten up a bit on stuff like that.